Napa Valley wine group Merryvale names Central-Eastern sales director
Steele Cooper is the new director of sales for the Central and Eastern U.S. regions for Merryvale Family of Wines in St. Helena.
Cooper joins the Merryvale family from Rémy Cointreau where his focus was LOUIS XIII.
He previously worked for Republic National Distributing Company in Texas as director of supplier business development, was a Texas region manager for The Plumpjack Group, and got his first start in the wine and spirits business as senior market manager for Texas on-premise with Rémy Cointreau, Merryvale stated. Cooper graduated from Washington & Lee University in Virginia and holds certifications in financial management from Cornell University and digital marketing strategy from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.
“Steele is a talented addition to our team,” remarks René Schlatter, president and CEO of Merryvale Family of Wines. “His impressive skillset in the U.S. wine and spirits business, specifically with the luxury on-premise segment of the market, will be an excellent addition to our efforts, particularly with the Profile Wine Collection and Merryvale Wines.”
Operated by the Schlatter family for over 25 years, the winery owns two sustainably farmed estate vineyards: the Profile Estate, a 25-acre hillside vineyard overlooking St. Helena, and the 38-acre historic Stanly Ranch Estate vineyard in Carneros.
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Stefan Parnay, who has been Marin County’s acting agricultural commissioner since September, has been appointed to the job.
Marin’s agricultural commissioner oversees 14 employees and an annual budget of $3 million. The department’s duties include promoting sustainable agricultural practices through an organic certification program; providing education on integrated pest management strategies; inspecting plant shipments for invasive pests; inspecting farmers markets; and producing an annual livestock and crop report.
The department also verifies retail price accuracy of commodities at the time of sale to ensure consumers receive the lowest advertised or posted price.
Before joining Marin, Parnay worked for Sonoma County as deputy agricultural commissioner for five years and as chief deputy agricultural commissioner for six years. He grew up in Sebastopol and earned a bachelor’s degree in ornamental horticulture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
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Wendy Lee Myatt has joined the finance committee of the Sonoma Valley Health Care District board.
The hospital’s announcement stated that Myatt, a longtime Sonoma resident, recently retired after from Kaiser Permanente where she most recently served as senior vice president of Personal Health. Prior to that, she was at Bechtel Corporation for 21 years in a number of management positions.
The hospital is also soliciting applications for two vacant positions on the board. Send information to Vivian Woodall, board clerk, Sonoma Valley Health Care District, Sonoma Valley Hospital, 347 Andrieux Street, Sonoma, CA 95476, or by email vwoodall@sonomavalleyhospital.org.
